Vegetable dishes

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I am a vegetarian and have been so from a very young age. I absolutely hate the smell and taste of lamb which is, for an Icelandic person similar to being an Italian person and not eating pizza. I remember during our Christmas dinners I used to look forward to the asparagus soup that my mother served before the main course, roast pork (a traditional Christmas dinner in Iceland). I could hardly eat it and always asked for a second helping of the asparagus soup which I dipped the super soft bread in (only served with the Christmas dinner). The other reason for my being vegetarian is because of animal welfare. The standard of animal welfare is not exemplary in Iceland although probably not as bad as in many other countries. The cows and sheep graze all day during the summer and the lamb is inherently organic and free range as it only grazes in the mountain during the summer, eating herbs and grass before it is slaughtered. Chicken and pork on the other hand is a totally different matter and the dreadful battery conditions exist her as they do elsewhere. My husband is therefore a vegetarian whenever we visit or live in Iceland because thankfully he agrees with my policies.

I use beans, peas and pulses, potatoes, vegetables, tofu, nuts, pasta and more when creating my vegetarian dishes. Some of them include free range and organic eggs or milk products as I am not vegan. I never fry/deep fry food, ever, although sometimes I stir fry vegetables. I bake everything I can (such as baking nut patties/cutlets/burgers) instead of frying them, saving a billion calories and fat. For Christmas I usually create a nut roast with loads of side dishes.

I don't know if in your part of the world you have a soup called "Nail Soup" as we do in Iceland...you probably do though....most households must have the kind of soup which is so cheap it almost costs nothing and to which you might add every vegetable left over in your fridge or freezer and it still tastes ok.